Wrath and Sloth
by Marie Nomad
Summary: After the Decimation, Clint spent five years lashing out at the world in wrath. Thor spent five years just wallowing away in sloth. Can these two broken souls help each other before the greatest mission the Avengers had to do?


This is inspired by the Avengers Complex by PatientAlien. All characters belong to Marvel and Disney.

Wrath and Sloth

By Marie Nomad

Clint Barton had been dead for five years. His body was walking and moving but the man known as Clint Barton was dead. He died the second that his family turned to dust. All that was left was Ronin, a wandering killer who just kills the bad guys. He didn't know what caused him to do it. All he wanted to do was kill as many criminals as possible, the ones that remained, the ones that should have been dust. Why did they survive while his innocent family turned to ash?

That changed when Natasha showed up with hope to bring back his family; to bring back everyone. On the jet, she explained what happened. Scott wasn't decimated like the others but ended up trapped in the quantum world. He came up with this stupidly brilliant plan that involved using the quantum world to time travel to the past, get the Infinity Stones, and bring everyone back. And of course, Tony, Mr. let's casually create world shattering new technology, Stark figured out how to make it happen.

Back at the compound, several people changed a lot. Tony had become a dad which was weird but he could see it. Bruce became a smart Hulk which was fine. Natasha just seemed more grounded in the Avengers. Then there was Thor. Clint didn't recognize him at first when he was waddling through the compound sporting crocks and drinking a beer.

The first time Thor showed up on Earth, people thought he was a crazy homeless guy who could be a model. Now, he looked like a crazy drunk homeless guy who slept on the streets for five years.

Clint wasn't even sure if Thor would even be willing to hang around long enough to do the whole Time Heist. He was here to get his family back but Thor won't regain everything. He would still be missing his planet, most of his people, and he would still look chunky.

He didn't know what to think as he was watching Thor at a distance, downing beers at a ridiculous rate. It was his turn for 'Thor sitting' and it was driving him nuts. He wanted his family back as soon as possible and Thor just couldn't be bothered with getting sober enough to fucking think.

Thor paused and turned his head slightly. His eyes covered with those stupid sunglasses and sighed. "You don't need to stay with me. I'm fine."

"I want to stay." Clint half lied. Okay, he wanted to help out with the brainstorming but Thor clearly couldn't be kept alone.

Thor turned away and sat down on a chair while shrinking down as much as possible. Clint had to wonder, how could a guy be bigger and smaller at the same time? "No, you don't. You hate me."

"Wait, what?" Clint knew that he was on edge around everyone. If everyone was making sure that Thor doesn't burst into tears, then everyone else was making sure that he doesn't get pissed off. Was this how Bruce felt before he learned to be the Hulk? "What makes you think I hate you?"

"I killed your family."

Clint felt himself bristled at the mention of his family and fought it down. Thor saw it and tried to hide even more. The former archer nearly laughed at the fact of a 1500 year old alien god being afraid of a mere human. "Thor, I don't hate you." He sat on his hunches. "T- that guy killed them. And we're going to bring them back. Besides, I can't hurt you even if I tried."

"What about Lo- er… the magic one?" 

Clint felt his body tensed again. Loki. He hated him with everything he had. He was thankful that Loki won't be coming back if they succeed in the Time Heist. He looked at Thor who was still trying to look as small as possible. Has Thor talked to anyone about Loki's death? Did Thor had a chance to mourn properly? He didn't know Thor and Loki's history but they were still brothers. Then, he remembered Wanda. Wanda was the same way, manipulating minds and nearly destroyed the world. What was the difference between her and Loki?

He shoved that hatred he had for Loki away. It wasn't fair to Thor to just stay shut up about his pain, forcing himself to smile. While Clint had lost his family, at least he had his planet, his farm, his culture. What did Thor have? Clint spent his time lashing out in rage at the world while Thor just curled up and stopped caring. Which sin was worse? Wrath or Sloth?

"Thor, I'm sorry about your brother." He muttered as loud as he could. It surprised him that he actually meant that.

"No, you're not." Thor guzzled another beer and dropped the empty can to the floor onto a pile of cans.

Clint snatched Thor's sunglasses away. His brown fake eye looked normal. The real blue eye was bloodshot and blurry. At least the archer still had both real eyes. He handed him the glasses. "Okay, I don't like the guy but that doesn't mean that I can't feel. You feel bad that Loki died. And if you feel bad then I feel bad."

Thor looked down at his sunglasses and put them back on again. The sides of his mouth twitched slightly. He didn't smile but Clint knew that he was feeling a little relieved. "He changed, you know. He changed a lot. He..." Thor sniffed.

Clint patted him on the shoulder. Fought the urge to wince at how soft Thor got. Can Asgardians lose weight? He was sure that Thor talked about at least one fat one. After the heist, how long could it be until Thor gets back to normal? Or the world at that matter? His kids, his wife, will end up in a world lost for five years. Would they be like Buffy and be in Heaven only to be ripped away? He didn't want to think about that.

"We all changed."

Thor winced and Clint bit his tongue. "I changed a lot." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal his half sleeve tattoo. "I killed lost of people. Bad people, sure but still I killed and I didn't care who I hurt. I have to tell my family about what I did. They barely forgave me for the Civil War. I want to see my kids one more time. But, I'm scared that they will hate or be scared of me."

Thor just straightened up and took off his glasses. For a moment, Clint saw the bold and confident Thor he used to know. "Your children will still love you."

"Thanks." Thor believed in him more than himself. There is hope that both he and Thor will escape the sins of wrath and sloth. "Can I have a beer?"

Thor handed him a beer and Clint double checked to make sure that it's safe for humans. He sat down besides the god and started drinking. Of course, he wasn't going to get blitzed like Thor but he could enjoy at least one beer.

The End


End file.
